Showmanship & Rollovers - Themes at this Year's Toronto Monster Jam Show!

   

The 2016 Maple Leaf Monster Jam Tour has once again started out with a vroom in Toronto! 

I attended this event this past weekend, and, as expected, it was full of rip roarin' action! Whether it's the side by side racing or the freestyle competition, there was something for everyone at this 2 1/2 hour extravaganza. 

This year, there seemed to be a lot more roll over crashes. This is important to note, so that first timers attending the show don't get alarmed, wondering if the drivers are injured. Drivers sit in the middle of their vehicles and are restrained by a 5 point harness safety system, similar to a car seat. The harness keeps them hanging on, literally and figuratively, while heavy equipment pulls them right side up.

Scooby Doo and Mutt Rottweiler were some of the ones that took a spill, including Northern Nightmare, who took the final wipeout during his freestyle competition. But boy! Did he ever put on one heck of a display! Whether it's the jumps, ticks, stunts, or a back flip, (yes, a back flip!), it's sure to amaze all. Word to the wise - unless you're doing it with a dinky car, or toy monster truck, - do not try this at home! LOL 

Our first experience with Monster Jam was at last year's show.  At that time, there were a lot of distractions for us personally as we naively brought our youngest son who wasn't quite ready to be at this type of event. We weren't able to fully appreciate the show and all that it had to offer that year. This time around, we got to see everything, including each and every roll over.  Whether or not they were planned & occur every year, I appreciated the showmanship at this year's event after one spill in particular. Although part of it might be scripted, the fact that one driver handed their trophy over to another driver who put on one hell of a show and lost only because of a wipeout, was a great thing to see. It's a reminder to children and adults alike, that it's much better and feels better, to do the right thing. Winning isn't everything, and I think it's a great lesson for kids to see play out in this format. 

Going back to my naiveté last time in bringing our toddler with us, I was reminded again this year as to how important ear protection is for kids while at the show. Monster Jam is spectacular, but is also extremely loud. It can be sensory overload for kids, especially young ones, when you're not dulling out some of the cacophony. I had foam ear protectors on for myself, but kids would fare much better with certified noise suppression. You can purchase them cheaper elsewhere, however if you are stuck, they do have 2 options at the venue ranging from $20-$25. Pay particular attention when purchasing the head gear, ensuring that you are purchasing ones that are actually approved noise suppression sets and not just more decorative ones.   

For more information on our first visit to Monster Jam last year, including even more parental perspective, please visit this link. 

Tickets to the show are affordable if you choose the cheaper ones. For the Toronto show, tickets ranged in price from $15 all the way up to $135. And there are many price points in between. As always, I recommend searching online to find any promotions or promo codes so that you get the best bang for your buck. 

There are 7 cities left for the 2016 Maple Leaf Monster Jam Canadian tour. Most locations have 2 shows, typically 1 evening and 1 afternoon show. 

Check out these other Canadian stops to see if you can head out & enjoy it as much as we did: 

Winnipeg - MTS Centre, January 30th-31st, 2016

Edmonton - Rexall Place, February 6th-7th, 2016

Vancouver - BC Place, February 27th, 2016

London - Budweiser Gardens, February 27th-28th, 2016

Hamilton - First Ontario Centre, April 23rd-24th, 2016

Halifax - Scotia Speedworld, May 28th-29th, 2016

Calgary - Stampede Grandstand, September 17th-18th, 2016

***** These views are mine, and mine alone. As with anything, you are responsible for assessing whether this item and/or activity is safe and suitable for your specific needs. InfoMommy does not make any warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, and assumes no responsibility and/or liability for any actions taken as a result of this blog post. *****

Energy Bites Kick Starts Your Health Resolutions!

   

'Tis the season for resolutions. Like many people, one of my top resolutions for 2016 is to eat better. Not only because it's just plain good for you, but also because I often find myself lacking energy throughout the day.

DK Publishing is releasing a new book later this month entitled Energy Bites. It includes a basic energy bite formula, as well as 15 recipes to create Timbit sized balls of goodness. The energy bite formula consists of a variety of nutritious elements broken down into categories such as nuts and seeds and sticky stuff, used to bind all the ingredients together. You can either use the recipes that are included in the book, or mix and match one ingredient from each category. You can also improvise with your own favorite ingredients to customize them to your taste and needs. 

All recipes included in the book are vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, and claim to be energy packed and protein rich. There are both sweet and savoury recipes, some which are baked and some that are no-bake. Some of them are raw, and all of them are made without using refined sugars. So shhhh, don't tell the kids!  

Energy Bites includes a pictured list of the author's 20 top ingredients, everything from coconut oil to goji berries, and everything in between. Many of the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store. For the other ingredients, the easiest place to get them is at your local bulk food store. Not only will they carry most, if not all of the specialty ingredients listed in book, you can buy only the amount you need. Anything else can be purchased at most health food stores. 

Because most of these bites are made easily with a food processor, we're setting aside a couple of hours tomorrow to make a whole bunch of these at one time. By doing 1 big shop for the required ingredients, we can spend a couple of hours making large batches of these bites to put in the freezer. 

No more excuses for reaching into the cupboard for something less than ideal. Simply grab one, or a couple, from the freezer and let them defrost. Voilà! By making a bunch at once, there's only a single mess to clean up, which is a huge bonus. According to the book, they can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week and in the freezer for 1 month. 

Energy Bites retails for $9.99 in both Canada and the U.S.

***** These views are mine, and mine alone. As with anything, you are responsible for assessing whether this item and/or activity is safe and suitable for your specific needs. InfoMommy does not make any warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, and assumes no responsibility and/or liability for any actions taken as a result of this blog post. *****